It is known in the art the use of electrical transformers, such as power transformers, for transmitting and distributing electricity through electrical grids.
A task of an electrical transformer is to allow exchanging electric energy between two or more electrical systems of different voltages by stepping up or down the level of voltage. According to a basic layout widely used in the art, a common power transformer includes a tank inside which there are positioned the active parts of the transformer itself, namely the magnetic core and a plurality of windings, which can be immersed in an insulating fluid, for instance a mineral oil.
Due to their intrinsic structure and functioning, during their working life electrical transformers may be subject to explosions and fires; these events can be triggered for example by electrical arcs and are fed by the energy flowing from the electrical grid into the transformer.
The effects of such explosions and fires can be very dangerous and may cause severe damages to the transformer and to the various equipment/loads operatively coupled therewith, disruption of the energy transportation even for long periods, thus resulting in economic losses for utilities/users.
Some solutions have been considered over the years in order to reduce such effects. For example, some electrical transformers have been provided with faster fault detection systems, or with improved protection fuses and circuit breakers. In some other cases explosion valves or sprinkler systems have been used, or different types of non-flammable insulating fluids have been investigated.
At the current state of the art, although the solutions adopted allow achieving improved results, it would be desirable to improve the capability of electrical transformers to face and withstand the occurrence of explosions and fires.